10-Year-Old Battles Breast Cancer
Incidents Of Breast Cancer Among Pre-Pubescent Children Are Rare But Do Occur
IMS Observations
Mothers, we encourage you to maintain an open dialog with your daughters that encourages them to share with you any unusual changes they are seeing in their bodies. This dialog is what saved Hannah's life. If you would like to get a breast screening exam for your daughter that does not use compression or x-rays and is particularly suited to young women, please learn more about Infrared Mammography.
sgvtribune.com - April 28, 2009
By Airan Scruby
Hannah is 10 years old, but she is fighting a grown-up battle.
Hannah Powell-Auslam, a fifth-grader at Escalona Elementary School, is being treated for breast cancer.
"It's very surreal," said Jeremy Auslam, Hannah's father. "We can't be the only ones."
Incidents of breast cancer among pre-pubescent children are extremely rare.
Hannah was diagnosed this month, a few weeks after her mother found a lump in her left breast. In late March, after she complained of itching, her mother took her to the bathroom to check for any problems. She immediately felt the growth.
The family quickly made an appointment to have it examined and Hannah had surgery to remove part of the mass in early April.
Not all of the tumor was removed, because it had advanced into breast tissue that would not grow normally in adulthood if it was damaged. The portion that was removed was sent for tests, but doctors reassured the family.
"They told me it was not breast cancer, because breast cancer does not happen to children," said Carrie Auslam, Hannah's mother.
In mid-April, test results came back with a shocking diagnosis - Hannah has Stage IIA Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, an adult form of breast cancer. The rest of the tumor, which had grown around blood vessels in Hannah's breast, would have to be removed.
"Breast cancer in children is exceedingly rare," Dr. Nathan Honda said. Honda has not treated nor examined Hannah, but works as medical director of the Ruby L. Golleher Comprehensive Cancer Program at Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital.
He said about 0.1 percent of breast cancer occurs in children and is generally less aggressive than in adults.
Carrie and Jeremy Auslam waited a few days to tell their daughter, gathering information about the disease to answer Hannah's questions.
Then, they broke the news.
"I didn't really know what cancer is," Hannah said. "I was just crying and I couldn't stop."
Carrie Auslam said she hopes her family's story will help kids communicate with parents about changes to their bodies that might indicate a problem.
"Hannah knew about that lump," Auslam said. "But she thought it was part of `growing up."'
The diagnosis means Hannah will likely have a mastectomy of her left breast, which will be reconstructed once she has developed.
She will also likely face chemotherapy, but her prognosis is good. Stage IIA breast cancer, characterized by smaller tumors found in the breast and minimal spread of the disease to the rest of the body, is very treatable.
Carrie Auslam said dealing with the disease is just part of the problem. Finding a doctor has been difficult as well. Oncologists at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles had little experience with breast cancer, so the family turned to UCLA Medical Center.
Breast cancer is treated there, though children are rarely patients.
Auslam said the youngest case any of the doctors she met had seen was 16.
When Hannah's friends and family learned of the diagnosis, they rushed to help her. Her uncle and father launched a blog, ourlittlesweetpea.com, to chronicle Hannah's battle with cancer and to provide a place to send donations or messages of encouragement.
Hannah's parents told her classmates and softball team, who have been equally supportive.
"The support is amazing," Carrie Auslam said.
Donation buckets were recently placed at a local carnival. A friend of the Auslam family donated Guess accessories for a sale to benefit the 10-year-old.
Although she had to leave this softball season early - her team, the Silver and Black Attack of the La Mirada Girls Softball Association, still has two games and the playoffs left - the team gave her a special send-off at her last game on Saturday.
The opposing squad met Hannah and her teammates at home plate and presented her with a signed shirt and pink Oakley glasses. One of the girls led a prayer for Hannah, and she threw out the first pitch.
The girls on her team are wearing pink hair ties and decals with her name and "No. 11" as a tribute to her for the rest of the season. Those decals are also being sold as a fundraiser for Hannah, to be placed in a trust.
Another team will wear pink uniforms for the rest of the season in her honor.
Hannah's team manager, Tommy Urbina, said Hannah is known on Silver and Black Attack for her strong bat and good attitude.
He said the girls still consider her part of the team.
"They're very supportive of her," Urbina said. "Yesterday we had practice, and one of the little kids said, `Let's win for Hannah."'
Hannah says she wants to make her cancer a positive experience, and is writing a book.
"God chose me because he knows I'm a strong girl and I can get through it."
Source Link
http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_12248253
